Mets Monday - Is the Shine Off the Apple?

It's a ridiculously rainy Monday in New York, which seems to me to be a perfect time to write a little bit about the Mets.

Just be happy they aren't playing at home tonight...

We all know the Mets have been doing much better than anyone expected them to do since the season started. They've been above .500 all season so far, with a high-watermark of five games over and a current record of 22-19. David Wright is arguably the hottest hitter in baseball, leading in most of the important offensive categories except home runs, and showing some of the most solid defense in his entire career. The starting rotation has been pitching better than expected, especially Santana and Dickey... although the injury to Pelfrey hurt pretty bad, because of how awful Chris Schwinden was for two starts. As fun as the team has been to watch for the most part this season, the last week or so has me really wondering if the shine is starting to come off of the apple that is the Mets season.

Mentioning the rotation brings us to one of the problems the team has been having lately. The starters need to be almost perfect because the bullpen has been coughing games up left and right. Combine that with the fact that the Mets offense is really only good enough for three to four runs a game usually, and it puts a whole lot of pressure on the starters to be as perfect as possible. Just look at Santana: after 8 starts and 43.2 innings, he's only allowed 14 earned runs, he's racked up 46 strikeouts and has an earned run average of 2.89... and he's only 1-2 on the season. The bullpen needs to step it's game up big time.

Another problem has been the injuries. There's the aforementioned Pelfrey, out for the season. They've been playing without Tejada and Thole, as well as Jason Bay... but let's be honest, we're probably better off without him. And don't get me started on the flu bug that's been getting passed around the clubhouse more often than a call girl in D.C.

Like I said, whether it's the bullpen, some sloppy play, the injuries, or the flu, it's seemed to me like the shine is starting to come off the apple. Or maybe it's more simple than any of those reasons. Maybe it's just a team that started off playing hotter than anyone thought possible coming down to earth. After all, no one can over-achieve forever. Or maybe it's just a bad week or two and my natural pessimism is getting the best of me.

Let's all root for that last one, Mets fans.